What to Know if Attending Reston National Hearing

Advocacy group Rescue Reston is hoping to fill the  auditorium with residents at the Fairfax County Government Center at Reston National’s Board of Zoning Appeals Hearing on Wednesday.

The BZA will consider the appeal of RN Golf, the owners of the 166-acre public course in south Reston, at the 9 a.m. hearing.

RN Golf, a subsidiary of Northwestern Mutual Insurance, has been asking the county since 2010 whether the course was considered residential. The county said in 2012 that the course is designated permanent, open recreational space, and to change the designation would require a change to the Reston Master Plan.

RN Golf appealed that decision, and then deferred the hearing several times. But Wednesday’s sessions is on, and Rescue Reston leader Connie Hartke said the BZA is likely to have a decision on the appeal the same day.

What Rescue Reston wants you to know if you are going to go:

• Be inside the auditorium at 8:45 for photographs of the “bright yellow sea of support” for County Zoning.
• Rescue Reston is encouraging everyone to wear their bright yellow/green Rescue Reston T-shirt or other similarly colored clothing, and to bring Rescue Reston yard signs (without the stakes). 
• If you are scheduled to make a comment to the BZA, the public comment period is at the start of the hearing. You have the right to speak at the hearing and voice your opinion. However, if a number of people have spoken and your points have already been covered, it is perfectly fine just to say that you “agree with” or “support” the previous comments, says Hartke.

The government center is located at 12000 Government Center Parkway, Fairfax.

For more information, including car pool sign ups, visit Rescue Reston’s website.

Read more on the subject:

Reston National Owners Ask Again For Zoning Appeal

Staff Report on Reston National Stays the Course

Residents Rally to Save Open Space

Development Foes Say History on Their Side